1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for evaluating different network access arrangements by testing access connections and comparing the test results against benchmarks for the tested connections that would be implemented on various types or leased lines. More specifically, the invention relates to methods of improving network access when there is a mixture of access technologies available to users of the network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demand for telecommunications services has mushroomed over the last few years. Many types of networks now exist through which data, voice, video and other multimedia applications can be routed and switched. Many forms of data and applications may be downloaded through such networks, such as Internet and Intranet web page fetches, form processing, mail fetches, supply chain and HR transactions, for example Service Access Point (SAP) transactions and PeopleSoft transactions, queries to Internet servers, voice over IP (VoIP), and other applications.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) have typically been created which allow customers or users of the network to obtain efficient use of the network resources, and cheaper service costs for data and other services. A VPN is typically set up with a series of leased lines or permanent virtual circuits (PVCs) that interconnect with a local public switched telephone network (PSTN) to provide the aforementioned cost savings, efficiency and enhanced usability of services. The backbone for typical VPNs is a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), or other forms of private or shared-private networks. Typically, data customers of a VPN have connected to the VPN through a leased line or a modem.
The future development of VPN access technology will require that network owners and service providers provide access to the VPN by whatever connection the user or customer has at its disposal. Thus, connecting to the VPN from the customers' Internet Service Provider (ISP) or through the Internet itself will be a primary modality by which a VPN is accessed. Customers will therefore connect to their VPNs using IPsec tunneling. In point of fact, the VPN may be accessed by the customer through a mix of access technologies such as IPsec (IP security), which is a collection of security measures for IP tunneling, digital subscriber lines (DSL), modems and leased lines. Thus, the VPNs of the future will require access management and evaluation that cuts across a variety of access technologies. This will provide new and unforeseen problems with network management since DSL, IPsec tunneling and other forms of private access to networks are not in the control of the network or service providers and therefore cannot be easily monitored or characterized.
Currently, there exists diagnostic equipment for networks that can report the network data carrying characteristics such as throughput, for example. However, these current diagnostic tools require that the VPN be established in the network and running before any information can be gathered with the diagnostic tools. This does not provide any predictive capability to the network and cannot tell network designers or service providers which access connections will be the best performers for the particular services that the customer wishes the VPN to perform. These current tools therefore do not provide adequate methods for assessing VPN access concerns.
There thus exists a long-felt need in the art for methods of characterizing, evaluating and/or optimizing network access from a variety of sources. These methods should be designed to fully understand the issues of data management and throughput when customers access their VPNs from a variety of access points and technologies. Moreover, the methods should allow the network and service providers to be able to make recommendations to customers concerning the access technology to utilize, and to modify the access technologies and the access to the VPN in order to improve and/or optimize access thereto. Such results have not heretofore been achieved in the art.